The Calamity Club

 Erin Haughey has been playing tennis with my Friday group when we need an extra.  I like Erin a lot and she is reading The Calamity club and suggests that I might like it too.  I finally finished The Correspondent after  Mary fast forwarded me through the segment in which the son drowns.....I just could not read it.  So I am starting this book tonight.  I am reading via audible

The Correspondent

My daughter, Mary, suggested this book to me.  She said that the book reminded her of me.  I like the book a lot.  I wish that I had started it in a time period in which I had more time to devote to it.  Virginia Evans has thrown in so many ideas that are of interest to me,....including DNA.  I may have to sit on the porch this weekend and really pay attention to the rest of the book!  I am reading it via audible.

And Then I Got to a place in the book where I knew her son was going to drown.  And I could not read any more.  And I could not seem to start a book until this one was finished and I was stuck.  Last night Mary listened for me until the part was done.  It is too hard to read about someone loosing a child.  And I was glad that I did finish as some good things happened in the end.

Mount Vernon Love Story

Oh, my.  I have only read a few pages, but I can already tell that this will be my favorite book of the year!  It is easy to read.....I don't know how Mary Higgins Clark makes reading history so enticing.  And it is hard to say how much is imagination and how much is really based on documents and research.  But here is a good example of why I like the book so much.  The scene is the last day of George Washington's two terms as first president.  He decides to walk to the inauguration of John Adams.  And we get to share in his thoughts as he leaves office.  And then as he walks into the inauguration site the crowd begins to clap and his entrance is to a room full of people clapping to show their appreciation of a great man.  

I will write more as I read more......

Then back to the story when George was 23 and accepted a commission as an officer under General Braddock.....I understand Braddock's defeat after reading only a few pages of Mary Higgins Clark's book better than if I had read an entire book on the incident.....But there is no doubt that it is the beginning of George's career as a military leader!  As Braddock died, he made it known that he wanted George to have his horse and his body servant.  And in turn George buried Braddock in the road that the entire group would trample so that his grave would not be found by Indians who might mutilate the body......And Mary Higgins Clark says that the soldiers that accompanied George ....well her words are that George blamed himself for his part in the failure....and did not see the worshipping glances of the troops who were still at camp as he rode away.  He did not know that all of Virginia was telling the tale of his bravery.  He did not even consider the fact that he was riding the dead general's horse and attended by the dead general's servant.

He did not consider that the mantle of leadership had settled firmly on his shoulders.

Then on page 176 George's very best friend, George William Fairfax, tells George Washington that he and his wife, Sally, are moving back to England.  George William tells George that the consolation in this move is that he will be removed from the position of having to take sides for or against the mother country.  If he remained in Virginia he would be forced to alienate either family or friends by taking a side. 

And George William Fairfax says:  

I couldn't help but enjoy the part of the story when George is worried about Patsy in Virginia ....and well....just worried about everything.  And one night there is a party and Nathaniel Green's wife, Kitty.....Mary Higgins Clark describes her as desperately in love with her husband but a bit of a flirt...says to George: "Your excellency rumor has it that you are the finest dancer in all Virginia. May I help you prove worth of that reputation?"  and at the end of the dancing she says:  

And George was reminded of Sally Fairfax and her husband, George William, who sat on the sideline with his rheumatism.  And George decided to write and ask Patsy to come to him.

And she answered:  "if you had not sent for me, still I would have come to you"  And Lund, the overseer, wrote George that Patsy had all the slaves near collapse preparing food to take to Cambridge.  She would be accompanied by Mr and Mrs Custis (Patsy's son and bride)

 

The Book of Lost Things

Very Odd book.  When I finished the book I was not sure if I liked it or not.  However, I rarely finish a book that I really DON"T  like....

Basically John Connolly intertwines a Harry Potter kind of character with a plot where a child enters a land other than his own homeland.  And then the author throws in fairy tales that we all recognize, but often they have a twist.  Such as Snow White is FAT and unpleasant.....
 

Information from Audible

Audible sent me a recap of my fiction reading in 2025 on Audible:

 

Strangers in Time

 Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life.

Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via “Operation Pied Piper,” Molly has been away from her parents—from her home—for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: neither of her parents are there, only her old nanny, Mrs. Pride.

Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where "a book a day keeps the bombs away". Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other—over the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seen—they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost.

The above is audible's synopsis.  This was not a great book.  But I did finish it and I don't finish books that I don't like.  An easy read....it does give one a good picture of the bombs that London endured during WWII.  

Wilderness War On the Ohio

Amazon's synopsis:  There is an untold side of the American Revolution; a forgotten, lost war fought within the context of that better known war for American independence from Great Britain. It is an untold story surrounded by mystery and misconception to this day because of the very nature of what happened. While Washington’s patriot armies were battling British redcoats in set-piece actions across the colonies in the East, a war of a far different nature was being conducted in the West to determine who was to control the frontier and Indian lands of the upper Ohio River Valley, and the Ohio Country to its west. It was fought without fixed boundaries or large armies, without accepted rules of engagement, or agreed-upon noncombatants.

Alan Fitzpatrick spoke today at the Christmas luncheon hosted by the Parkersburg WV SAR.  He is a terrific speaker and I thoroughly enjoyed his talk.  However, his topic was so new to me that I didn't have a good place to hang all that I learned....so I want to jot down a few thoughts to come back to.

Alan was born and raised in Canada.  In the process of researching an ancestor who was a Tory during the Revolutionary War, he happened across the Haldiman papers in Ottawa, Canada. 

From AI:     Yes, the 

Haldimand Papers (spelled with an 'i') are extensively available on microfilm at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in Ottawa. The original documents are held at the British Library, but LAC created both transcriptions and microfilm copies, which are available for public use. 

These papers are a collection of handwritten copies  done by an aid to Col Haldimand in a journal of correspondence between Col Haldimand and his officers in the field. (Alan says the handwriting is excellent)  

Alan spent years ordering the microfilm copies one at a time....there are 98 reels......for his use to write this book.  

British Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton, operating from Detroit, was a major figure in the western theater, known for inciting Native American attacks on American frontiers and being captured by George Rogers Clark near Vincennes.  Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton received a command from the British King to bring the Indians into the fight to subdue the American patriots.  He did this by giving the Indians gifts, sending 17 men to recruit the Indians to fight the American patriots in order to retain their lands, and sending six gunsmiths among the Indians to repair their guns and weapons.

I wish that I could recount the battles and history of this conflict on the western frontier/wilderness.  But I would have to study for hours to have all of the information in my head that Alan presented today.  But some of the main ideas that were of interest  to me were the fact that many of these men who fought in these skirmishes had Indian wives or were connected to the Indians in personal ways.  And that these were not battles as one finds in the battles on the eastern colonies.  These were ambushes where every man was killed.  Or battles from combatants who trekked through the wilderness on paths barely wide enough for a man or a horse.  Or Boats carrying troops that were intercepted and all of the men on board killed or captured.

The other surprise to me was that this war did not stop when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown 19 Oct 1781.  The last battle of this part of the war took place in 1782 and is considered the last battle of the Revolutionary War.

Something I would like to follow up on is from a Slideshow in my possession from Ronald.  My memory is faded and I don't have time to work on this tonight.....and I do believe that this time in the militia was BEFORE William, John and James joined the continental army in the begining of the Revolution rather than after they came home after the winter at Valley Forge....but I would like to look at this. 

1.William, John and James in Captain Martin ‘s Militia on the Western Front.

 

Revolutionary Mothers

October 2025 I am reading Revolutionary Mothers to take part in the WV DAR book club via zoom.  I am not sure I will finish it in time for the meeting.  But it is of interest.  

Martha Washington is shown as a wife who joined her husband every winter and is seen in a most complimentary light.

Nathaniel Green's wife, Catharine Littlefield Greene

was an American patriot who traveled to her husband, Continental Army General Nathanael Greene's, encampments during the American Revolutionary War. She entertained and comforted the soldiers, officers, and officer's wives. During that time she had four children and a fifth after the end of the war. Greene followed her husband, regardless of cold weather or illness in the camps, notably spending the winter at Valley Forge. 

Caty visited her husband at his headquarters as often as possible, with or without her children. As a general’s wife, she was naturally made the center of attention. She became close friends with Martha Washington and Lucy Knox. Her vivacious behavior elicited a spontaneous response from admiring gentlemen. She listened with genuine interest to stories told by men like General Israel Putnam. Young aides became smitten with her looks and playfulness, and Nathanael was delighted by their admiration. Even General Washington asked that she come to camp for her convivial nature brightened the hardest of winters. During an officers’ party in February 1779 at the Middlebrook, New Jersey encampment, Caty danced with General Washington for three hours straight without sitting down. Nathanael commented that they had “a pretty little frisk.”  (it is said that Martha knitted while they danced)

Grace Gallaway was turned out of her home but kept a good attitude. 

But perhaps my favorite chapter was the chapter about the Indian women.  William Johnson and his wife, Molly Brandt lived in the Mohawk Valley

In February 1759 in the Village of Canajoharie (New York), the Baronet of New York, Sir William Johnson, married under the Mohawkian tradition, with the Mohawk leader Molly Brant Degonwodonti. The couple had eight children....don't know if either of the below depictions have any sort of "realness". but they do give one a feeling of how complicated their relationship was.  No portraits of her are known to exist; an idealized likeness is featured on a statue in Kingston and on a Canadian stamp issued in 1986.

Their marriage was never recognized by the British nor Americans.  William was the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs.  Molly was a loyalist 

I found the information about how much more power and influence the Indian women had in their tribes than did the European women enlightening.

Mohawk Valley  

Nancy Ward was also mentioned in the chapter.  Nancy was known as Beloved Woman and Was Cherokee.  I know Nancy from my research in the Wautauga, Clinch, Holston area of early NC and VA that later became part of Tennessee.  

 In the end of the book, I was taken by how little power the women of the time period actually had.  It is pretty amazing to realize that women didn't even have the right to vote until 1920.   Women have made huge progress in the last 100 years in controlling their own destiny.

What to read next

 My life has gone back to normal after a HUGE summer and early Fall.  I have read almost no fiction in that time.  I started a book that took place in the Galapagos in June, but did not finish it while we were on that trip.....then too busy in July to think of much more than what we might eat the next meal....then too busy in August catching up....and DAR district meeting and DAR "stuff"....

I found Emma by Jane Austen on audible as a free download and started it because it was the book for the month of September for the Colonial Dames book club.  But the date of the zoom meeting came and went with my having only read a small portion of the book.  Next is the state DAR zoom meeting for book club featuring 

I have already bought it on audible and it is only six hours long....hmmmm.....just writing this post is helping me get my mind in order.  I think I will put it on my calendar.  

Introvert thoughts

My 60th High School reunion was this past week.  I had spent many hours on the logistics of the event.  And for me the event was very successful.   I probably enjoyed this reunion more than any other I had attended over the years.  But also for me it was a continuation of the 50th during which I spent time with Frank Cummings and Steve Sims that led to the revelation that I am an introvert.  This knowledge changed my life.  Understanding one's own brain leads to freedom.  So it was fun this morning to receive the below from CNN in my inbox.  This blurb was clearly written by an extrovert.  Every introvert in the world is thinking the exact opposite:  WHEW!  it is so wonderful to have a few quiet weeks......Definitely not spinning our wheels waiting for something exciting to happen....we are enjoying the peace and quiet.

Emma

 

The Colonial Dames are featuring a book by Jane Austen for their September book club.  I had found myself not listening to fiction on audible since the trip to the Galapagos for two reasons:  my life was crazy busy and I had started a book about a murder mystery on the Galapagos that I had liked but wasn't calling to me.  So I decided to read Emma instead.  And pleasant surprise!  It is free at audible. 

The following showed up in my inbox on the same day that I made this decision.  And somehow I decided to go ahead and add all of the information to my blog ahead of actually starting the book. 

We know SO much about Lizzie Bennet, Emma Woodhouse and Fanny Price —and comparatively little about the creator of those heroines, the great Jane Austen. A soon-to-be-auctioned letter from Austen to her sister Cassandra reveals a bit more about the enigmatic and beloved author — her grief after losing her father, gossip about neighbors and how she reacted to the sudden decline in her family’s social status.

When Austen died at 41, Cassandra burned hundreds of the letters her sister sent her. That’s a tough break for Austen scholars, but it also suggests that Cassandra was protecting her sister’s privacy in death. It’s no wonder Austen’s novels feature fierce sisterly love.

Chesapeake

 oh, my gosh....one of those nights when I chose exactly the right book.....

I was a bit tired of the kinds of books that I had been reading.....I wanted a book that was not hard....not too much thinking but still giving me real understanding of a time and a place......I don't know how I was lucky enough to find exactly what my brain needed right now.  I can not say enough good things about what I have read so far.  It starts with Indians before the white man comes to the Chesapeake.....oh, my....the book is worth the price of reading if that is all you read.  This man had an incredible imagination.

I have read about Rosalind who was not pretty which influenced her life....married to a man who had inherited the Steed plantation but was not up to snuff when it came to running the plantation but was lucky to have married a woman who was "up to snuff"....

But now I have read up to the Revolution....and these pages that I have listened to have such an insight into those men who had always been loyal to Great Britain ....traded with the companies ....without any thought of doing anything different became unloyal because of in the example in the book the man who represented the church was TERRIBLE!  He was taking people's land when they couldn't come up with the tithe in tobacco.   He was taking men who were Catholic or Quaker into the court room. And the court room scene he describes has three men being tried for not paying their tithes to the terrible man who represents the church of England....he has taken them into court.  The Steed man is a Catholic and objects to supporting another church.  The second man is a Paxmore and he is a quaker and objects to supporting another church.  The third man is from the swamps....a descendant of the man who was deported many years ago from England instead of having been executed....the surname is  Turlock....the family has lived in the swamp ever since.  And he has no tobacco with which to pay his tithe.  The year was just before the Revolutionary War....and it is easy to read the unhappiness with which the rector is causing in his parish.  He stands for the establishment, but he fills it as a person for whom no one respects nor likes...this was probably happening all over the colonies?  As Steed and Paxmore walk away talking they agree the time has come to build a Schooner....that schooners will be need in the years to come if war is inevitable....neither of these men would want war....but they know the man from the swamps and others like him will indeed want war.

This information is found on my audible book at 31 h 36 min left

Up until this time, they have been building or owning sailing ships for their trade with Great Britain as show below.  Now they will need schooners as shown above for the war with Great Britain.

It has been the pirates who have sailed in the smaller schooners because they are faster and can go places a large ship is unable to go.  The men make the decision that this smaller boat is the kind of ship they are going to need in the upcoming days.

History of the Schooner

With striking similarities to many 17th-century Dutch ship designs, origins of the schooner are believed to be around New England during the early colonial period of the United States. Built for speed and efficiency in coastal sailing, the design of the schooner then led to the development of the famous Clipper ship design. With its origins in the Chesapeake Bay, the Clipper ship design grew in popularity as the descendant of the schooner. 

Schooners and Pirates 

Throughout its early history, the schooner was even known to be the preferred vessel of pirates! Because of their speed and efficiency, schooners were recognized as pirate ships sailing around the Caribbean, often holding more than 60 men at a time. In true pirate ship fashion, many schooners also contained nearly ten guns, with swivel guns included as well.

As Steed starts home after agreeing on the sloop, he is thinking large thoughts about society.  When he thinks large thoughts he thinks in France as he was educated in France....and his thoughts go to Montesquieu....he spent a summer on Montesquieu...and before I go farther I had to google the philosopher....and here is what I read:

What were three of Montesquieu's ideas?

He believed that the administrative powers were divided into the executive, the judicial and the legislative. His writings detailed that the three powers should at once be separate from one another and dependent upon one another. In that way, Montesquieu believed, no power should become stronger than another.

When I got to the part about the slave trade I almost could not pick the book back up.  But I did and the interactions between the blacks and the whites became an important part of later parts of the book.  Honestly, Michener captured many of the issues that our country faced during the 20th century and continues to face.  This was a great read and I look forward to reading more of James Micheners books in the coming years.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

 I had mixed feelings about this book.  Totally implausible plot.....and an end that had too many syrupy lines.  But I still finished the book and looked forward to turning it on at the end of the day.  There were enough good parts and peeking into the life of someone in a nursing home to keep me entertained.  I listened to this fiction on audible as usual.

Monogamy

Graham and Annie have been married for nearly thirty years. Their seemingly effortless devotion has long been the envy of their circle of friends and acquaintances. By all appearances, they are a golden couple.

Graham is a bookseller, a big, gregarious man with large appetites—curious, eager to please, a lover of life, and the convivial host of frequent, lively parties at his and Annie’s comfortable house in Cambridge. Annie, more reserved and introspective, is a photographer. She is about to have her first gallery show after a six-year lull and is worried that the best years of her career may be behind her. They have two adult children; Lucas, Graham’s son with his first wife, Frieda, works in New York. Annie and Graham’s daughter, Sarah, lives in San Francisco. Though Frieda is an integral part of this far-flung, loving family, Annie feels confident in the knowledge that she is Graham’s last and greatest love.

When Graham suddenly dies—this man whose enormous presence has seemed to dominate their lives together—Annie is lost. What is the point of going on, she wonders, without him?

Then, while she is still mourning Graham intensely, she discovers a ruinous secret, one that will spiral her into darkness and force her to question whether she ever truly knew the man who loved her.

I have just started the book and so far I like it a lot.  

Finished the book last night and I won't yell and scream about it.  But it was a good steady read and easy to put down and pick up.  Not sure above is a perfect description, but it is good enough that I will not take time to say more....except that absolutely this book was NOT about monogamy.  However, I did like the characters and the way they were so entertwined because of Graham.

 

Familia

 This seemed to be an easier read for December.....I will start it tonight.  Here is the synopsis:

What if your most basic beliefs about your life were suddenly revealed to be a lie? In this compelling, emotional novel, two young women are brought together by a genealogy test and a haunting question that shakes their understanding of what family is and who they truly are …

As the fact checker for a popular magazine, Gabby DiMarco believes in absolute, verifiable Truths—until they throw the facts of her own life into question. The genealogy test she took as research for an article has yielded a baffling result: Gabby has a sister—one who’s been desperately trying to find her. Except, as Gabby’s beloved parents would confirm if they were still alive, that’s impossible.

Isabella Ruiz can still picture the face of her baby sister, who disappeared from the streets of San Juan twenty-five years ago. Isabella, an artist, has fought hard for the stable home and loving marriage she has today—yet the longing to find Marianna has never left. At last, she’s found a match, and Gabby has agreed to come to Puerto Rico.

But Gabby, as defensive and cautious as Isabella is impulsive, offers no happy reunion. She insists there’s been a mistake. And Isabella realizes that even if this woman is her sister, she may not want to be.

With nothing—or perhaps so much—in common, Gabby and Isabella set out to find the truth, though it means risking everything they’ve known for an uncertain future—and a past that harbors yet more surprises …

“Familia has it all: An old crime, unsuspecting victims, a genetic mystery that will explode a family. By page 30, I would have walked on coals to finish reading this story.”—

Devil Water

 I started this book and I do like it ....but I think I might choose something else for the month of December.  Here is the synopsis:  

This fiercely beautiful novel tells the true story of Charles Radcliff, a Catholic nobleman who joined the short-lived Jacobite rebellion of 1715, and of his daughter, Jenny, by a secret marriage. Set in the wilds of Northumbria, teeming London, and colonial Virginia—where Jenny eventually settled on the estate of the famous William Byrd of Westover—Jenny’s story reveals one young woman’s loyalty, passion, and courage as she struggles between living in the Old World and the New. This vividly powerful novel, like its predecessor The Winthrop Woman, combines thoroughly documented history with superb storytelling.

So I really do have interest in following the story.  I am going to put it away until after the holidays.

Daisy Jones and the Six

 At one point I wondered what I was doing reading this crazy book and almost quit reading...Who recommended it to me?  But when I finished listening last night I was happy that I had read it.  That was my era.  I liked how the author told the story in the voices of the band.  It is fiction.  But I wished to have listened to their music.

One of the reviews captures my feeling:

• In Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid imagines an oral history of the band’s rise and fall. It’s fictional—though Reid was inspired by Fleetwood Mac and others—but the band and the era are so fully realized you’ll think you’re reading a true story.

  REAL SIMPLE

The Teller of Small Fortunes

 I have had a particularly busy fall and decided that I needed a light read.  So far I am enjoying this book.  Here is the synopsis:

ABOUT THE TELLER OF SMALL FORTUNES

A wandering fortune teller finds an unexpected family in this warm and wonderful debut fantasy, perfect for readers of Travis Baldree and Sangu Mandanna.

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells “small” fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a “knead” for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao starts down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past close in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk

The Haj

 After several very crazy weeks, my life slowed down this past week.  Summer 2024 has been the year of the drought in our area.  HOT!  DRY!  And this past Wednesday it began to rain.  No golf on Tuesday because there was state senior men's tourney and then it has rained steadily since Wednesday morning so no golf.  That frees up a lot of hours.  And then Sarah and Mark came for a visit and that leads to hours sitting on the porch.   A very nice respite after a bunch of craziness.  

But last night we sat on the porch after dinner and our talk ended up being influenced by the book Jason is listening/reading right now:  

Mark actually knows quite a lot about the middle east as he flew in and out of the area for many years.  And has first hand knowledge of places such as:  Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, Jordan:Amman, , Jericho,  Petra (Mark says Petra is amazing)., Pyramids in Egypt as well as seeing Cairo, Alexandria, within Iraq:  Baghdad, Mosul, Erbil, Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Riyadh, Jeddah, Damascus in Syria.

Mark was an army jet pilot who did VIP transport.  His job was to provide air transport to the US military and US government top brass and elected officials.

We talked about believers and infidels....and Mark commented that the only place he felt somewhat safe was in Jordan

I found myself thinking about the areas that Mark talked about and remembered that I had read the book The Haj by Leon Uris many years ago and liked it a lot at the time....could I walk right to the book now?  Yep....there it was on the shelf in the living room.  So I picked it up to give to Mark.  But before I gave it to Mark, I decided to take photos of the maps on the front and back covers.  And needed a place to put the maps....so here they are.

And a simple map that I took from the internet:

I can't remember much about the book.  I read it many years ago.  So I looked on Amazon for a synopsis.

The story of a Palestinian Arab family during the historic events of the 1920s-1950s as seen through the eyes of Ismael, the youngest son. Of the intent of the book, Uris said," It is urgent that we know what goes on behind the door of an ordinary Arab family…only by such understanding will we have the clues to mutual survival"

and

“The narrative is fast paced, bursting with action, and obviously based on an intimate grasp of the region, its peoples, their tradition and age-old ways of life.”—John Barkham Reviews

Remarkably Bright Creatures

 This book had a bit of a silly plot.  That is the word that springs to my mind when everything fits together so neatly.  And in this book there was a crazy amount of "stuff" to fit together.  But it was a pleasant read and that is what I had asked for when I finished by last book.  I had a busy month and I needed a book that didn't take much brain power.  I won't tell the basic story because that would ruin the read.  One of the main characters was an octopus who was stuck in an aquarium.  Another main character was Tova who cleaned the facility at night....and you could not help but like Tova a LOT....